Art and Culture in Baghdad

Voice 2:And I’m Liz Waid. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1:Iraq, 2007. A place of continuing struggle and conflict. Military helicopters fly low across the afternoon sky. In the distance, a bomb explodes. Bursts of machine gun fire follow. Another street battle is beginning. People in the street start to hurry home. It is not safe to be outdoors at such a time. But something they hear makes them stop suddenly. Music fills the air around them. Just for a minute, its sweetness makes them forget the troubles in their city. These people have experienced years of conflict and death. For them, it is good to remember that the world also contains beauty.

Voice 2:The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra played the music that day. This group of musicians - music makers - were meeting in the city centre. They needed to prepare for a series of performances. The musicians want to show the people of Iraq that music is very important. And it should be as much a part of their lives as the other events they experience daily. The orchestra is good news for the people of Iraq. We do not normally hear good news from this country. However, in today’s Spotlight we tell how people are restoring Iraq’s culture through music, books and art.

Voice 1:Iraq’s national orchestra formed in 1959. It was the country’s official orchestra - the government paid its musicians. It soon became famous across the Arab world. And musicians came from many different countries to be part of this orchestra. However, the military invasion of 2003 changed this. Musicians no longer felt that coming to Iraq was safe. And something worse happened. During a riot, crowds destroyed a lot of the orchestra’s instruments and music. Majid Hussein Moussa plays the trumpet in the orchestra. He described those events:

Voice 3:“They were burning the music - smashing up violins and pianos and putting them in the fire. When I asked them why they were doing this, they told me, ‘If you stay, you will burn with them.’ They ruined so much at that time. It was so sad.”

Voice 1:Majid Hussein Moussa had another frightening experience. Some gunmen kidnapped him from outside his home. He explained what happened to him:

Voice 3:“The men covered my eyes. Then they put me in the back of a car. They took me to a room somewhere. They accused me of being a soldier. But I had papers to show that I was only a poor musician.”

Voice 2:Many of the orchestra’s members believed that Iraq was no longer safe. So they left. But Moussa and the remaining orchestra members showed great courage. They decided to continue playing music. They received financial help from organizations overseas. And they managed to buy new instruments and music. And so the orchestra continues to play - easing people’s troubled spirits.

Voice 1:Iraqi people are famous for their love of books. One famous Arabic saying is: “Egypt writes. Lebanon publishes. And Iraq reads.” Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, once contained one of the biggest libraries in the world. People would come from far away to look through its wonderful book collection. But almost eight hundred years ago, invading armies came from the east. They killed the people of Baghdad. And they destroyed all of the library’s many books.